India has a substantial fleet of ships both in the commercial as well as defence sector. Today, there are more than 2,000 Indian owned vessels operating in Indian waters. This generates demand for ship repair activities locally in Indian waters. However, due to unavailability of infrastructure or price competitiveness, most ocean-going vessels go overseas for repair. On top of that, dry docking facilities for ship repairs in India are far from adequate as compared to shipbuilding capacities.
Hence, the country's ship repair industry is no match for the global competition. Looking on the customer’s side, they now demand a holistic repair service that ensures quality and quick turnaround time. This in turn is creating a major demand supply gap in the industry, requiring an experienced and customer centric Company to fill the void. This is where SHM Shipcare comes in.
Established in 2001, SHM Shipcare strives to deliver an end-to-end bespoke ship repair solution for both big steel made ships and small FRP ships. With 15 service station locations throughout India and other countries, as well as a team of 170 engineers, fitters, welders, mechanics, riggers, and electricians, SHM is able to keep its promise of providing high-quality services for all needs relating to life-saving, fire-fighting, electronics, cargo gear equipment, and general ship repair.
“At SHM Shipcare, we strive to deliver turnkey solutions for all ship repair needs. Right from dry docking to afloat repair, our team ensures to provide an end-to-end cost effective solution. Today, we specialize in providing short, normal and major refits of ships,” states Aliasgar Hajee, Managing Director at SHM Shipcare.
Proactive Workforce
SHM Shipcare has developed an impeccable team with a perfect amalgamation of experience and skill, that assures an unmatched experience to the clients. With years of knowledge, dedication and robust skill, the team of SHM now specializes in delivering a wide range of ship building and repair services.
Starting with the top management, they possess in-depth domain knowledge with a collective experience of more than 50 years. Whereas in the captive shipyard at Ghodbunder, Thane, the Company has a team of around 110 people with various skill categories in terms of mechanical, electrical and engineering to cater to all the needs of its clients. In addition, SHM also has its own team of tailors, carpenters and painters, who are deployed to take care of interior and accommodation related jobs.
“Apart from structural, electrical and technical defects which are required for the actual movementof the ship or safe operation
of the ship, we also have a dedicated team for the interior and aesthetic jobs", shares Hajee.
Stringent Quality Measures
Quality is the top most priority for SHM Shipcare and to attain the same, the management has carefully devised a robust work methodology that ensures nil defect leakage.
To start with, SHM has been diligent about continually training its workforce to keep them updated with the latest technologies and advanced machineries. Furthermore, for every project the Company at first goes through its manual and documents to understand the working system, machineries and technology used in the ship, and only after proper knowledge, SHM starts with the repairing projects. During the repairing stage, SHM closely collaborates with OEM engineers possessing who are equipment specific trained and possess in-depth knowledge about the concerned ship; this in turn ensures optimum quality of the service delivered.
“In any project, if we are repairing a ship which is built in Norway, then we collaborate with a the OEM(Original Equipment Manufacturer) engineer to guide our team on how to get the job done efficiently in the shortest possible time. Our every project is done under the presence of an expert, who directs us with the appropriate guidelines that need to be maintained for a certain ship, which in turn helps us quickly overcome the new learning curve for different vast and various categories of ships” points Hajee.
Moreover, every job done by SHM, has a predefined QAP system that includes all the regulations for ensuring safe operation and meticulous inspection. “As SHM, we follow a stringent quality plan, wherein every step right from the removal of the equipment to repair and refitting, is documented in a detailed form", adds Hajee.
Holistic Approach
Ship repairing being a complex process, requires the involvement of multiple vendors to work at different stages of the repairing timeline. This in turn, often jeopardizes the quality of the job performed. Moreover, with the involvement of different service providers, timely completion of a project looks like a far-fetched goal for the ship owners.
SHM on the other hand, has effectively walked its clients out from this complicated maze. With years of experience and in depth knowledge of not only in ship repairing but also developing, the Company has devised an end-to-end service line covering all the requirements of its clients with absolute precision.
Today, Companydelivers a wide range of services to its clients, that includes but not limited to — lifeboats and rescue boats, hook replacement, life rafts, immersion suit, inflatable lifejackets, fire fighting appliances, electronics, pyrotechnics disposal, FRP boat repairs, cargo gear testing, gangway & accommodation ladders, fleet service agreements, training seminars and workshops, general ship repairs, and more.
“Unlike other players, we have been a point of single contact for our clients. With our involvement in a project, our client need not to interact with any other vendors. Starting from the plane, SHM has developed its competency in the industry to provide our clients with everything, while adhering to quality standards", mentions Hajee.
Progressing Ahead
Incorporated in the 1880s as a ship chandling Company, the progressive outlook of the management team helped SHM to slowly establish itself into multiple domains. In its decades of operations SHM has been parallel with the evolving demands of its clients, and over time, the Company has involved itself into multiple domains, like — safety equipment manufacturing, boat building for defence and luxury markets, General ship repair, Marine store supply, Turnkey firefighting installations and retrofits, servicing of life saving and firefighting appliances etc and it is with the acquisition of a Ship development and repairing Company in 2008, SHM entered into ship development and repairing of FRP ships. The second big jump came for SHM, when the Company approached to acquire a well reputed steel ship repairing company. These two big time additions, helped SHM to develop its competency, and with time the Company has now evolved as a one-stop shop for its clients.
In the coming days, SHM wants to develop a bigger ship -repairing and building facility of its own; thereby enhancing its capacity from current 4-5 ships to 8-10 ships. In the upcoming two years, the Company is also looking forward to entering the leasing market, and providing necessary support to the private boats and yachts for its repair and also with the development. For the steel ship repairing, the Company has already signed multiple MoU’s with Govt owned PSU’s to lease their dry docks and provide effective and on-time service to its clients.
